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“People with ankylosing spondylitis face serious pain and disability, and, too often, their disease does not respond adequately to existing therapies,” said John McHutchison, MD, Chief Scientific Officer, Head of Research and Development, Gilead. “These data are encouraging, suggesting filgotinib has the potential to play an important role in addressing this medical need.”
“We are excited to see that filgotinib showed strong activity across a wide range of parameters relevant for ankylosing spondylitis and was well tolerated in TORTUGA, which reinforces previous findings about the activity and tolerability profile of filgotinib in multiple inflammatory conditions,” said Dr. Walid Abi-Saab, Chief Medical Officer at Galapagos.
Adverse events were generally mild or moderate in severity and were reported in an equal proportion of patients in the filgotinib and placebo groups. Laboratory changes were consistent with those previously reported for filgotinib, and no new safety signals were observed in the study. There was one treatment-emergent serious adverse event reported for a patient receiving filgotinib who experienced pneumonia and recovered after hospital-based antibiotic treatment. One patient randomized to filgotinib, with an inherited risk for thrombosis, experienced a non-serious deep venous thrombosis after completing the course of study drug. No deaths, malignancies, hepatic events, opportunistic infections or cases of Herpes zoster were observed in the study.
Detailed results from the TORTUGA trial will be submitted for presentation at a future scientific conference.
Filgotinib is investigational and not approved anywhere globally. Its efficacy and safety have not been established. For information about the clinical trials with filgotinib: www.clinicaltrials.gov.
About the TORTUGA Study
TORTUGA was a multi-center, randomized, double-blind,
placebo-controlled, Phase 2 study to assess the safety and efficacy of
filgotinib in adult patients with moderately to severely active AS. The
trial was conducted in Belgium,
The primary objective of TORTUGA was to evaluate the effect of filgotinib compared to placebo on the signs and symptoms of AS, as assessed at Week 12 by ASDAS (a standard composite index for assessing the disease, which incorporates five disease activity variables).
About Ankylosing Spondylitis
AS is a systemic, chronic, and progressive seronegative spondyloarthritis that classically affects the spine and sacroiliac (SI) joints and may progress to spinal fusion, leading to permanent disability. Currently, there is no known cure for AS, but there are treatments and medications available to reduce signs and symptoms and manage pain.
About the Galapagos – Gilead Collaboration
Galapagos and Gilead entered into a global collaboration for the development and commercialization of filgotinib in inflammatory indications. The Phase 2 TORTUGA trial in ankylosing spondylitis is one of several Phase 2 trials in inflammatory diseases in addition to the ongoing FINCH Phase 3 program in rheumatoid arthritis, the DIVERSITY Phase 3 trial in Crohn’s disease (also small bowel and fistulizing Crohn’s disease Phase 2 studies) and the Phase 3 SELECTION trial in ulcerative colitis.
About Galapagos
About
Galapagos Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements with respect to
Galapagos, including statements regarding Galapagos’ strategic
ambitions, the mechanism of action and potential safety and efficacy of
filgotinib, the anticipated timing of clinical studies with filgotinib
and the progression and results of such studies. Galapagos cautions the
reader that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which might cause the actual results,
financial condition and liquidity, performance or achievements of
Galapagos, or industry results, to be materially different from any
historic or future results, financial conditions and liquidity,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. In addition, even if Galapagos’ results, performance,
financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry
in which it operates are consistent with such forward-looking
statements, they may not be predictive of results or developments in
future periods. Among the factors that may result in differences are the
inherent uncertainties associated with competitive developments,
clinical trial and product development activities and regulatory
approval requirements (including that data from the ongoing and planned
clinical research programs may not support registration or further
development of filgotinib due to safety, efficacy or other reasons),
Galapagos’ reliance on collaborations with third parties (including its
collaboration partner for filgotinib, Gilead), and estimating the
commercial potential of Galapagos’ product candidates. A further list
and description of these risks, uncertainties and other risks can be
found in Galapagos’
Gilead Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are
subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, including the
parties’ ability to complete the clinical trial programs evaluating
filgotinib for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis, ulcerative
colitis and other inflammatory diseases in the currently anticipated
timelines, or at all. In addition, there is the possibility of
unfavorable results from additional clinical trials involving
filgotinib. Further, it is possible that the parties may make a
strategic decision to discontinue development of filgotinib, and as a
result, filgotinib may never be successfully commercialized. All
statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that
could be deemed forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties
and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from
those referred to in the forward-looking statements. The reader is
cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These and
other risks are described in detail in Gilead’s Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q for the quarter ended
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Galapagos ContactsInvestors:Elizabeth Goodwin, +1-781-460-1784VP IR & Corporate Communicationsir@glpg.comPaul van der Horst, +31 71 750 6707Director IR & Business Developmentir@glpg.comorMedia:Evelyn Fox, +31 6 53 591 999Director Communicationscommunications@glpg.comorGilead ContactsInvestors:Sung Lee, +1-650-524-7792orMedia:Nathan Kaiser, +1-650-522-1853
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